Home - Isaac Peetoom Heida

Isaac Peetoom Heida

PhD Student at University of Alberta. Agroecologist. App developer. Eater of good food. I am interested in the intersection of ranching and conservation. How can we use livestock to maintain grassland ecosystems while also producing food and sequestering carbon?

About Me

ABOUT

About Me

I am a PhD Student at the University of Alberta. I completed my M.Sc. in Plant Sciences at the University of British Columbia in 2023, where I studied the role of silicon in cereal crop defence against insect pests. I have prior experience in agroecological work, as well as large-scale biodiversity monitoring. I love food and the natural world. Combining these two passions has driven me towards agroecological research. Currently I am part of the Climate Action Through Grazing project, where we are testing the effects of rotational grazing on soil carbon sequestration in Alberta. My work specficially involves the soil microbial community response to different grazing regimes.

RESEARCH

Current Research Interests and Activities

Grazing Ecology

Grasslands are one of the most threatened ecosystems globally. The majority of grasslands depend on livestock grazing for their continued persistence. I love that we can maintain these ecosystems while also producing food and economic benefits. Though livestock grazing can have negative effects on the health of grassland ecosystems, grazing also provides an economic incentive to maintain the grasslands Rotational grazing systems are gaining increased interest as a way to simultaneously improve the economics and sustainability of their grazing operations, yet data from Canadian grasslands on the impacts of different types of grazing systems remains limited.

Soil Microbial Ecology

The importance of interactions between soil microbes and crop plants are gaining increased recognition. These interactions can cause disease, but can also increase soil fertility, provide drought tolerance, and increase resistance to crop pests.

How does neighbour identity affect plant-soil feedbacks in agronomic species?
How do cropping systems and phylogenetics interact to shape plant-soil feedbacks?

Shrub Ecology

Shrubs occupy a unique ecological niche. Their woody nature allows them to outgrow neighboring herbacous species while also disrupting local air currents (wind), However, their short stature (compared to trees) limits the space in the understory for other plants to grow. T here is interest in increasing the integration of shrubs and trees into farming systems, but more knowledge is needed on how shrubs coexsist with other crop plants.